[praedet]

I know

[wgscott]

I'm thinking of getting potentiometers that are a little bit less cheesy than the supplied Honeywell ones.

Is this a reasonable option?
http://www.partsconnexion.com/controls_pot_connex.html

I don't want to spend megabucks (I would probably get 4 if I decide to bi-amp), but would like something slightly more confidence-inspiring than what came with the kit.

[corndog71]

I'm thinking of getting potentiometers that are a little bit less cheesy than the supplied Honeywell ones.

Is this a reasonable option?
http://www.partsconnexion.com/controls_pot_connex.html

I don't want to spend megabucks (I would probably get 4 if I decide to bi-amp), but would like something slightly more confidence-inspiring than what came with the kit.

I would recommend Precision Electronic pots from

http://www.tubesandmore.com

Only $9.95 ea.

[wgscott]

Black in the middle, red on the right as the knob points away from you, white where the non-existent yellow wire is supposed to go.

I just found your picture:



That is TOTALLY different from what I have, and the instructions I got with the amp.  WTF?  I am surprised mine works at all.

I've re-connected it the way you have pictured above, and it works much better, not surprisingly.  What does concern me is that Tom went to the trouble to print out an email giving very explicit directions to the contrary.

[wgscott]

I would recommend Precision Electronic pots from

http://www.tubesandmore.com

Only $9.95 ea.

Thanks.  I'll do that as soon as I figure out what wattage and resistance I need.

[praedet]

I've re-connected it the way you have pictured above, and it works much better, not surprisingly.  What does concern me is that Tom went to the trouble to print out an email giving very explicit directions to the contrary.

Awesome!  Yeah, when I e-mailed him about that he apologized because he had not thought about the change in wiring/e-mail...

[wgscott]

By the way, your verbal description is retrospectively pretty clear, but the photo really saved me.

[rajesh]

srry guys, I was travelling and couldn't access the site from my mobile. Even now I'm doing it through my phone connected to my laptop.

It certainly could be a synergy thing with the speakers.  Maybe not even a Class A/B vs Class D thing.  Maybe a different Class D amp would drive them better.

You may well be right there Steve. I think a speaker with a sensitivity of 91dB or above should make things better.

Do you have any other 2-way speakers with passive crossover you can try it with?  It's just kind of surprising seeing how many people are thrilled with the amps.

Actually, I played the amp with a couple of other speakers, one a professionally designed Tower speakers with drivers cannibalised from my old Kenwood monitors and a smallish bookshelf with 4" Kevlar mid-woofer and 3/4" PP Tweeter. The bookshelf does not have the SQ to dig out the full music details. The towers had 12" woofer and the amp has tough time controlling the same. The result was, there was some bass overhang. I posting the pics of the speakers here.








Rgds

Rajesh

[Jeff G]

Hey guys,
Building an SDS 254 kit. I have an email into Tom regarding fuse sizes but wanted to see if anyone else had spoken to him previously. I have a 7amp slow blow fuse. is that too big? My switch is rated for 10 or 15 amps. Hopefully, I'll be done today!!
Thanks

[corndog71]

I didn't get any instructions with my amp except how to change from single-ended to balanced inputs.  The manual posted on the website is for the older CDA boards with instructions on how to install outboard leds and how to bridge the outputs.  And that's it.  No info on fuses.  No helpful hints.  I guess he just assumes the customer will email him.  To be fair I bought the boards seperately and I got my transformer directly from Antek.  I'm not sure if his complete kits are different.

I had to read this thread a lot to gather all of the needed info.

Product: A+
Instruction Manual: F

I'm still thinking about making a manual with full color pics for the forum just because one is needed so badly.  When and if I build another classdaudio amp I'll do it.

[wgscott]

Hey guys,
Building an SDS 254 kit. I have an email into Tom regarding fuse sizes but wanted to see if anyone else had spoken to him previously. I have a 7amp slow blow fuse. is that too big? My switch is rated for 10 or 15 amps. Hopefully, I'll be done today!!
Thanks

Here is what he sent me:

Most of what you need you can get from places like www.parts-express.com.
Here are a few links to some items...

Fuse holder

for fuse 

[praedet]

I didn't get any instructions with my amp except how to change from single-ended to balanced inputs.  The manual posted on the website is for the older CDA boards with instructions on how to install outboard leds and how to bridge the outputs.  And that's it.  No info on fuses.  No helpful hints.  I guess he just assumes the customer will email him.  To be fair I bought the boards seperately and I got my transformer directly from Antek.  I'm not sure if his complete kits are different.

I had to read this thread a lot to gather all of the needed info.

Product: A+
Instruction Manual: F

I'm still thinking about making a manual with full color pics for the forum just because one is needed so badly.  When and if I build another classdaudio amp I'll do it.

I would most definitely be willing to add anything on running it on Battery power...

[wushuliu]

Here is what he sent me:

7A should be fine.

[praedet]

So, I have some solid silver RCAs that have been sitting for a while waiting to go in the final chassis.  They are lightly tarnished.  I ordered some DeOxIt, but it won't be here for a few days.  Any ideas on what I can use to clean the connection so I can solder it?

Ted

[corndog71]

So, I have some solid silver RCAs that have been sitting for a while waiting to go in the final chassis.  They are lightly tarnished.  I ordered some DeOxIt, but it won't be here for a few days.  Any ideas on what I can use to clean the connection so I can solder it?

Ted

You could use this:



Technically, silver oxide is still a conductor and probably wouldn't make much of a difference with the sound.

[Gomer]

Has anyone put together a big multichannel amp? I've scrolled through about 1/3 of the thread (huge thread!) and about the most I've seen is a 4 channel.  Wonder if an 8 channel (4 boards/2PSUs) has been nicely stuffed in a case.

[corndog71]

Has anyone put together a big multichannel amp? I've scrolled through about 1/3 of the thread (huge thread!) and about the most I've seen is a 4 channel.  Wonder if an 8 channel (4 boards/2PSUs) has been nicely stuffed in a case.

I don't think you want to run more than 2 amp boards per PS board.  You may also need multiple transformers as well.  I'm sure it can be done but I'm not sure if you'll get much of a cost savings over other commercial amps.  Although the classdaudio amp would probably be more efficient.

[praedet]

So, I am about to switch out the gain pots for two vishay naked resistors.  Should I desolder the connectors on the board and solder in the resistors (best possible sound from the resistors) or simply hook the resistor into the plastic clips like some of you guys did so I can try different ones in the future?  Part of me wants to get the best possible connection with these and move on, and part of me likes the idea of tweaking...

Thoughts?

[wgscott]

Tweak first, then solder when you are happy with what you hear. Please let us know, so we can learn from all of your costly and demoralizing mistakes.

Seriously, you have nothing to lose by testing first until you are satisfied.

[criv911]

I am building a multi amp monster. I've been waiting to post until I have something to report. I am tri-amping Magnepan 3.3r's. Here's the run down. Three tiers, two power supplies on the bottom, two SDS-4's bridged for the bass panels, two SDS-254's for mid-high's. On a hinged top the Marchand XM-44 embedded crossovers, and a Moscode minuet tube preamp. How's that for overly ambitious?